As you know, we love getting recipes from customers.  Megan P. has been utilizing our Steakburger and Soup Bones for quite a while, now.  I asked her for some recipes showcasing how she used the Soup Bones and our Laredo Cut Ribs, and here they are!

You know, since we started this venture a few years ago, I have learned so much.  I always thought stock was ownership in a company, now thanks to folks like Megan I know it is also a valuable, tasty, nutritious component in good cooking!

Incidentally, this website and our business are all about community, networking and learning from each other.  Megan is a financial advisor, and you can find out more about what she does, here:

more about Megan …

Stew
This recipe adapts both the beef stock recipe in Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon and my mother-in-law’s stew recipe.  I used to use stew meat, but we have loved it with the laredo ribs from Lonestar Grassfed!

Stock:
1 package marrow and bones
1 package laredo ribs
4 or more cups cold filtered water
1/4-1/2 cup vinegar (I use white, apple cider is also popular)
1 onion, coarsely chopped
3 carrots, coarsely chopped
3 celery ribs, coarsely chopped
1 bunch parsley

Place the bones and laredo ribs in a very large pot with vinegar and cover with water.  Let it stand for one hour.  Add vegetables to the pot,  then bring to a boil.  Remove any scum with a spoon.  After skimming, reduce heat. Simmer for 12 to 72 hours.  Just before finishing, add the parsley and simmer another 10 minutes.
Strain the broth.  Pull the meat from the laredo ribs.  Cut or tear any longer strands into bit sized pieces.  Put this meat in the strained broth and put it in the fridge.  Once the broth has cooled, remove the fat that has risen to the top.
I feed my dog some of the fat, along with the veggies that have cooked in the broth.  He also loves some of the bones.

Mimi’s Stew:
Broth and beef from making stock (or you can use stew meat, along with either water or canned broth)
Onion, diced
1-2 carrots, diced
Potato, diced
1-2 cups frozen mixed vegetables
2 small cans tomato sauce
1 can Rotel
salt/pepper

If you are using the broth you made, add the onion, carrots, potato and frozen vegetables and simmer until everything is tender (about 45 minutes).  Add the tomato sauce and Rotel and simmer long enough for the tomato flavor to mingle – about 15 minutes.  Season to taste with salt and pepper (be sure to use plenty of pepper!).

If you are starting with raw stew meat and water/canned broth, then bring the stew meat, onion and water/canned broth to a boil.  Simmer at a good pace for at least an hour and a half. Add water if needed.  Once the meat is tender, add the carrots, potato, and mixed veggies and simmer for another 30 minutes.  Add the tomato sauce and Rotel and simmer an additional 15 minutes.

Janet G. is a new customer.  She took some of our ideas, but mostly her own great spicing and created a pot roast which made a lot of folks happy!  Note the inventive use of amaranth flour in her sauce/roux.  Amaranth is full of nutrition, check out our link, here:

http://lonestargrassfed.com/blog1/wild-thangs/steamed-lambsquarters-martin-p/

So here’s the recipe, in Janet’s words:

“Thanks for the tips, the pot roast came out great. I used about 5 lbs of the roast and seared it on both sides, adding 2 huge bunches of Texas kale from Central Market, an onion, and half a stalk of celery.  Salt, garlic powder, sweetened with fourth off a cup catsup and then same amount Braggs vinegar to balance, and thickened with half a cup amaranth flour, it was delicious, savory, and fork tender in four hours.  The meat was divine, and I will always use amaranth in sauces.”

Ben C., my good friend from high school, has become quite an amateur chef.  Amateur only in the sense that he doesn’t get paid!  He’s been to a number of cooking schools, meat clinics, etc.  And he practices regularly.

A few months ago Ben introduced me to “sous vide”, a way of cooking meat at a low temperature used by professional chefs and restaurants worldwide.  Evidently it is used on both coasts and in Europe, and probably in many restaurants in most large cities, yet most folks I know have never heard of it.  It amounts to seasoning and vacuum packing the beef, then placing it in a carefully controlled water bath at say 130F.  After a period of time the beef is removed from the bath and vacuum packing and is seared on both sides on the grill.

Now this is one of those things on which we have to say, “don’t try this at home”.  Namely, if you don’t do it correctly you could create bacteria issues.  Ben uses an iPhone app that determines the temperature control and rise from the thickness of the cut, etc.

Anyway, the results were fantastic!  As were the green beans and special potatoes (I didn’t get the name of the potato presentation.)  So shown below are some pics of his system:

Condalia Farms Brand New York Strips:

Lightly seasoned with salt and pepper:

Vacuum packing:

Cooking time calculus, on an iPad app:

The PID controlled water-bath cooker:

Steaks in the water-bath:

Our of the water bath, dried, ready for searing:

Seared 30 seconds on each side:

Plated!

I’ve been doing a lot of cooking, recently.  And I need something that is easy, and good, and generates some great leftovers.  Enter the London Broil Pot Roast.   Take one of our 2.5 pound, 2″ thick London Broil cuts ($5.99/#, whaddaya waitin’ on?) and pat it down with a little flour and sea salt and fresh ground pepper, then brown it in a cast iron skillet.  Then cut it in four, put it in a large crock pot/slow cooker.  Add 2 or 3 carrots, celery stalks, a piece of onion, a couple Anaheim peppers – all diced.  Then a half dozen or so new potatoes.  Threw in some previously cooked, leftover broccoli.  Then, a double handful of the wonderful new kale I have found, GloryFoods cut kale at HEB.  Last time I added a handful of arugula, too.  Then some Lipton Onion Soup mix and enough water.  Add a little Tony Cachere’s if you like.  Set it on high for 4 or 5 hours and go away.  Feeds 5 – 8, or 4 with leftovers.  Incredible!

I want to be the first one to figure out how to put “taste” on a website.  Just a teaspoon – tablespoon of goat cheese, molded inside the patty.  Nuff said.

Where’s the grease?  There is none!

Last weekend we camped a night in Cuero, caught some fish, did some hikes, had a great time.  We also grilled some Condalia Farms Brand sirloin over huisache – mesquite’s more prickly, almost cousin.  It was great!  Shown here, Scooter and Ched work on the veggies while Sheryl helps and Angie supervises …

The next morning we had one of Scooter’s many discoveries/creations.  Simple, good, good for you, incredibly easy:  Sweetpotato pancakes!

Bruce’s sweetpotato pancake flakes, in a box.

Water

Blueberries

Plain yogurt

Mix the sweetpotato flakes and branch water (yes, that is all), add some blueberries.  Cook over a hot comal or griddle, renewing the griddle’s oil coating, occasionally.  Then top the pancake with plain yogurt and more blueberries.  Wow!

I’ve been meaning to post this excellent recipe for a couple of months – slipped through the cracks!  Here ’tis, enjoy!

Easy Condalia Thai Beef Lettuce Wraps

Saute in Sesame Oil:

1# Condalia Brand Steakburger

1T Chili Paste

3 cloves garlic

1 bottle Global Palate Panang Sauce (found at your HEB)

1 pkg. Rainbow Slaw and or chopped cabbage, chopped broccoli stem, and grated carrot

Large lettuce leaves for wraps

Crushed peanuts and chopped green onion for garnish.

Thanks, Ann P., for fixing this for us, and then giving us the recipe!

We understand a certain Central Texas restaurant has had so much success with our Steakburger that they are advertising their grassfed burgers on the local radio!  Alright! Evidently their chefs have over 45 variations/specials for preparing the Steakburger …

2 – 3 inches of snow at the ranch, Friday January 4, 2013 (I think it was):

Take a look it this!  Condalia Farms Brand Steakburger dressed in a homemade bun, along with Swiss cheese, mushroom and Bibb lettuce. Wow!  One of our restaurant customers is using our Steakburger as the basis for a grassfed burger-delicacy!